1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fingernail and toenail clippers and, more particularly, to clippers for cutting the distal end of the nail plate wherein the cutting edge is shielded and the structure of the clippers further comprises an integral clipping collector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional finger and toenail clippers are almost invariably comprised of lever-actuated jaws having exposed sharpened edges. The lever is attached to a post that that is fixedly mounted at one end to the first jaw and slidably mounted at the other end to the second jaw. The jaws are held open by a natural spring bias. They are closed by manipulating the lever, which compresses the second jaw towards the first. The distal end of the nail plate is placed between the sharp jaw edges and is cut as the edges come together. U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,137 to Husain is one example of nail clippers having this basic structure.
There are at least three primary disadvantages to the structure of conventional nail clippers. A first disadvantages is that the cutting edges on each jaw are exposed. A second disadvantages is that there is no integral guard that would prevent the user from cutting the nail too far down. Given the exposed cutting edges and lack of safety guard, conventional clippers may cause accidental injury if used by children or in an irresponsible manner. There is also the potential for such clippers to be used as a weapon. A third notable disadvantage is that the conventional nail clippers spew out all nail clippings, leaving an unsanitary mess behind. The Husain '137 patent attempts to provide a safety guard to prevent the user from cutting the nail down too far, but it does not address the problems of the exposed cutting edge or scattered nail clippings.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,540,782 to Hansen discloses a non-conventional nail clipper structure. The nail clippers comprise a first housing slidably mounted within a second housing. A compression spring extends the length of the first housing and rests on an abutment extending the length of the second housing. The second housing has nail insertion slot and both the housings are contoured over the length of the housing on the slot side to match the curvature of a finger. The inside of the first housing is further defined by a knife edge. If the housing ends are squeezed together, such that the first housing slides against the resistance of the spring into the second housing, a finger nail inserted into the nail slot would be clipped by the knife edge. An outlet opening in the second housing allows the clipped nails to be expelled.
A number of disadvantages are associated with the Hansen '782 nail clippers. First, users may be reluctant to stick their fingernail in the slot to be clipped because the cutting edge is not visible. Second, since the nail plate must pass through a slot the thickness of which is at least the sum of the thickness of both housing before reaching the cutting edge, the user may not be able to cut the nail as close to the hyponychium (point of attachment between the skin of the finger or toe and the distal end of the nail) as desired. Third, the matching concave contours of the housings, nail slot, and cutting edge allows the shape of the clipped nail to match that of the finger tip, but does not push the fingertip skin away from the nail to prevent accidental cutting of the fingertip skin and to allow the cutting edge to cut as close to the hyponychium as possible. Lastly, while the Hansen '782 nail clippers provide an outlet for expelling the clipped nails, they do not provide a means to collect the clipped nails and expel them as desired (i.e. over a trash can).
Therefore, it would be advantageous over the prior art to provide finger- or toe-nail clippers having shielded cutting edge(s) in order to prevent intentional or accidental injury. It would further be advantageous over the prior if such nail clippers were structured to allow the user to view the cutting edge in operation and to clip the nail as close as possible to the hyponychium without causing injury to the finger or toe. Lastly, it would be advantageous to provide an integral vessel for collecting clipped nails, with removable cover to allow convenient discarding at will.